With Fear and Great Joy

Easter sermon based on scriptures from Matthew 28:1-10 and Jeremiah 31:1-6.  Sermon given at Forest Hills Presbyterian in Richmond, VA on April 16th.

With Fear and Great Joy

It is a day of great joy! Alleluia, Christ has risen! Alleluia!

It is a day of celebration.

As I began thinking about today,

     I contemplated what you and I

celebrate in our lives and all the ways we express our joy.

There are personal celebrations

     of birthdays and anniversaries

       which we celebrate with family and friends;

There are community celebrations

     a retirement party,

     a high school graduation,

     a wedding;

There are holidays and national days of celebration

     the 4^th of July,

     Father’s Day and Mother’s Day,

     Thanksgiving;

We celebrate

with parties and cakes and food,

with cards and presents,

with picnics and dances,

with laughter, hugs, and tears of joy.

Some of the emotions you and I feel during these times are

      Surprise 

      Joy

      Pride 

      Amazement

     Love.

You and I celebrate today,

we celebrate God’s everlasting love,

                eternal love.

As the words we heard in Jeremiah

“take your tambourines,
    and go forth in the dance of the merrymakers”.

These are joyous words, time to celebrate,

–there is life after exile and there is hope for the future.

God’s living faithfulness brings hope to the people of Israel.

They are celebrating God’s love!

God’s love in not limited, there is no expiration date.

In Deuteronomy 7:9

God’s love and faithfulness was proclaimed this way:

 Know therefore that the Lord your God is God,

the faithful God who maintains covenant loyalty

with those who love him and keep his commandments,

to a thousand generations

Now it is more than a thousand generations

–it is everlasting love!

It is nothing that Israel says or does

that brings God’s faithfulness;

God chooses to love them.

I have loved you with an everlasting love;
    therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.

God’s love does not end.

This everlasting love is present in the New Testament…

Because of God’s love, Jesus came to be among the people,

     to teach, to heal, to show compassion,

     to suffer and to die,

and to be resurrected;

     to overcome death, to forgive sins,

     to be the way of salvation for all.

God’s divine act –Jesus has risen!

From our New Testament scripture today,

     we heard Matthew’s version

of the good news of the resurrection.

The 2 Marys have a surprise as they come to the tomb…

It is dawn, the beginning of a new day,

however, they do not know how wondrous a day it will be.

They do not know there will be a reason to be joyful.

The 2 women are coming in sadness and in grief;

and suddenly the earth quakes and before them is an angel.

The shock of this overwhelms the Roman guards,

     but not the women.

The angel brings comfort to them,

     “Do not be afraid.”

What they must be feeling at that moment!

Put yourself in their place…

     their grief is now mixed with confusion,

     they are awe struck, amazed at what they are seeing,

     the exhilaration of the moment,

     the adrenaline rush they are feeling…

     instinct would tell them to be afraid. 
At one time or another we have all had that feeling,
     the moment you do not know whether
          to run toward something or away from it;
     the fear of change and the excitement of something new;
     a moment of mixed emotions.
 Yet there are the angel’s words, words to comfort and to calm:
            “Do not be afraid.”

The Gospel of Mark describes their reaction as this:

      So they went out and fled from the tomb,

for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

 Matthew’s description of the women is different:

no fleeing, no terror, no keeping silent…

     So they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples.

With fear and great joy.

They had not yet fully overcome their fear,

     still, they are filled with great joy;

Imagine their hearts beating quickly,

     feeling the wonder of the moment,

      excitement and awe

as they go to announce the news to the disciples.

They have a purpose, a message to convey,

     and they run with amazement and joy in their heart.

The 2 Marys then encounter Jesus on the way.

They see with their own eyes,

the truth of the resurrection!

Jesus is there, with them,

     he has been raised from the dead.

God’s divine act of love did not end with a life and a death,

Jesus was raised!

Jesus gave the women a similar message as the angel had:

Fear not

Go -Proclaim the news

Go to Galilee

They will see Jesus there.

The 2 Marys are again given a mission to complete.

They are the first to see Jesus,

the first to worship him,

the first to be commissioned to share the good news.

In what ways do we as Christians take on our role

as proclaimers of the good news?

Is it something done with great joy in our hearts?

The hard truth is

we strive to be disciples,

               to follow in Christ’s footsteps;

we try and sometimes we stumble along the way.

But in that moment we must remember,

even when we fail, God’s love is with us.

On this Easter morning as we celebrate the risen Christ,

Do you and I not long to:

     Feel the exhilaration of the discovery of the empty tomb?

     Proclaim the news of the resurrection?

     Embrace the excitement of the moment,

both the fear and the great joy?

     Celebrate the love of God?
Today we celebrate!

Alleluia, Christ has risen! Alleluia!

A celebration of God’s everlasting love…

How do you and I show our joy today and every day?

For the joy of the resurrection is not for today alone;

The good news is not reserved for Sundays;

God’s love does not have limits.

We live in a broken world,

     a world where there is violence, sadness,

war, fear, poverty;

     a world where people struggle in their daily lives,

             face uncertainty, and have lost hope.

It is the good news of God’s love

that we as Christians must share with others.

It is God’s living faithfulness and eternal love

that brings hope.

There is new life found in the blessing of the resurrection;

the second chance we are given as our sins are forgiven;

          our hope and salvation.

So on this Easter Sunday let us resolve to

     do as the women in Matthew did…

Do not be afraid;

Go -Proclaim the news!

We know of God’s love for us,

     a love without limits.

We know this love because of Jesus,

      because God chose to love us,

      because of God’s faithfulness, we have hope.

Alleluia, Christ has risen! Alleluia!

As Jesus told the women

     tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.

You and I have faith in the fact that

     Jesus has gone on ahead,

  he is the light, the light of God’s love, the crucified risen light

that will lead our way.

Known by Love

Maundy Thursday ( April 13, 2017) service at Forest Hills Presbyterian Church in Richmond, VA.  Forest Hills and Eastminster Presbyterian worshiped together.  Scripture is John 13:1-17, 31-35.

 

Known by Love

 They will know we are Christians by our love.

We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord
We will work with each other, we will work side by side
We will walk with each other, we will walk hand in hand
They will know we are Christians by our love. *

Some familiar words from one of my favorite hymns,

          saying you and I will be known by love:

The ways we express our love for each other,

          our families and friends;

The ways we express our love for our community,

          those in need and in pain;

The ways we express our love for the stranger,

          offering hospitality and kindness.

They will know we are Christians by our love.

 That is a good definition of love in action;

          being in service to one another and to God.

This is the new commandment Jesus gives to the disciples:

          …love one another.
Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.
 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples,
if you have love for one another.

 Jesus is saying farewell;

          He knows what is coming and

He has a gift and lesson for the disciples, his friends.

          Jesus will wash their feet
                     and give them this new commandment.

Why wash their feet?

Theologians will say
          It provides spiritual purification;
          It symbolizes baptism and communion;
          It represents welcome into God’s household;
          It is a call to follow Jesus in humble service.
Yes, all true and I like that last definition best.

 When Jesus washes the disciples’ feet

          it is an act of love, a humble act in service to others;

          a perfect example
                       of the commandment to love one another.

Peter gets upset…

          because foot washing
          is something done by a servant,
          not by a teacher, not by the Lord.

Jesus explains:

So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet,
you also ought to wash one another’s feet.
For I have set you an example,
that you also should do as I have done to you.

Jesus is saying farewell.

His words and actions are meant to help the disciples
          through the next few days,
                   for Jesus knows the trials to come,
                             the betrayal, the denials, the suffering,
          through their time without Jesus’ daily physical presence as teacher,
                    as rabbi, as friend,
          through their lifetimes,
                    as they go and spread the good news;
                    as they become examples of acts of love;
                    as they go and build communities of believers.

So how do you and I fulfill this commandment?

Are we known by our love for one another?

We have come together this evening,

                    2 congregations worshiping together,
          Christians in community
                   sharing the love of God.
There are many ways you and I give our time and talents
          in caring for one another…
                   serving on a committee,
                   volunteering with a local organization,
                   visiting the sick or homebound,
                   comforting those grieving,
                   mentoring a youth,
                   praying for others.

 A lot could be said at this point 

          about how Christians in general are seen by others.

There are times we do not fulfill this commandment;
          We are not led by our hearts,
          We do not offer the hospitality and love we should.
As Christians you and I have our failings, our shortcomings;
          yet, as individuals we strive to do better.
You and I are followers of Jesus,
          embracing his teachings,
          wanting to proclaim the good news,
          yearning to share the love of God which we have felt.

Jesus is an expression of God’s love for us;

          God’s everlasting love!
Love that began in a garden,
Love that was present in the wilderness and in exile,
Love so full of grace that God became flesh to walk among us.

Jesus is the great example of God’s love for us;

          through teaching,
          through suffering,
           through death.

We remember in this worship service,
          the long night;
Tomorrow,
          the darkness of suffering and death;
Saturday,
          the waiting and grieving.

It will lead us to the joy of Easter morning.

 We are not there yet.
We wait.
We pray.
We remember Jesus’ words from John 15:

“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.

 No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends
 You are my friends if you do what I command you.
 I do not call you servants any longer,
because the servant does not know what the master is doing;
but I have called you friends,
because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father.
 You did not choose me but I chose you.”

 God chose us.

God’s grace and mercy reaches out to us.
God knows us.
God’s love surrounds and encompasses us.

 Let us follow where God leads.

Let us fulfill the commandment.
Let us be known by our love.

* Words from hymn We are One in the Spirit by Peter Scholtes Glory to God hymnal #300..

Images of Pastoral Care

This was a paper I wrote during CPE (Clinical Pastoral Education) -fall 2016. From the book Images of Pastoral Care by Robert Dykstra.  A few edits have been made in order to remove specific encounters with patients.

Images of Pastoral Care                                                                       

            I have chosen 3 images to examine from the Dykstra book.  They are the Courageous Shepherd, the Agent of Hope and the Gardener. 

            First the Courageous Shepherd. The image of the shepherd I grew up with was the kind shepherd watching over his flock and Jesus caring for the lost lamb.  Yet there is a courage that must accompany the gentleness of caring.  It is the willingness of the shepherd to protect his flock even at the cost of his life.  “Caring is costly, unsettling, and even distasteful at times.”[1]  Caring is for the whole flock, the ones that get lost, the ones that get into trouble, the mean ones, and the wandering ones.  Jesus ministered to those on the margins of life, those who were not welcomed with hospitality, the outcasts. 

            In a patient’s room in CPE, I have encountered all types of diversity including people on the margins.  Some do not have the social skills or mental capacity to interact with others; some have been homeless or drug users; some or isolated from family either by circumstances or by distance.  They are the invisible people on the edges of society. They need care too.  The shepherd stays with the sheep.

            There is also a certain loneliness to a shepherd’s life; isolation from others as one cares for the flock.  Campbell talks about the wandering life of the shepherd. “The shepherd was with his flock day and night, often in remote places far from home.”[2]  As one answering the call of ministry, I answer the call to go where I am needed or more specifically where I need to be for a time.  For seminary, that meant moving to Richmond, leaving familiar places, friends, and family.  For future ministry I hope to stay in Virginia or return to the Carolinas, however God may have a different path, a different place, and a different flock for me.

            The shepherd is a leader and protector. The enduring image of the ‘good shepherd’ was given a new perspective for me when in seminary, my Greek professor said he preferred to translate καλός as the ‘beautiful shepherd’.  The shepherd is caring and courageous, gentle and strong. 

            Next is the Image of the Agent of Hope.  Personally I embrace hope: hope of blessings yet to come.  Hope and faith are intertwined for me.  Faith may be hope dressed up in religious terminology. Hope being ‘to want something to happen or be true and think that it could happen or be true’[3].  For faith the best definition for me is in Hebrews.  “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”[4]

As Capps describes pastors, they are agents of hope. “They often feel vulnerable is the fact that they having nothing other than hope to offer, and hope is a very intangible thing.”[5]  This is probably the reason I began CPE feeling uncomfortable seeing what was ‘behind the door’ (to the patient’s room).  What could I offer the patient?  I could not fix what was wrong, it may be a onetime meeting with this person, and there was no long term relationship or support.  What could I offer to the person in pain or suffering?  Presence of being there in the moment and hope.  Hope for healing and recovery.  One definition Capps uses for hope states “When we hope, we envision eventualities that are not yet realities but nevertheless appear to us as potential realities.”[6] 

            The difficulty with hope is the risk, the chance of hope not being realized, the potential failure, not facing realistic goals, not recognizing “the fruit of various past hopes that have been fulfilled”[7] , and consequences for others.  Hope is risky.

            When I pray with a patient, I included thanks for blessings that have been received and mention having faith and hope in the blessings yet to come.  Our charting options include concerns of hope or despair and outcomes include enhanced hope.  Hope is powerful.  If that is all a pastor has to give, even though it is intangible, it is still a precious gift to give to others.

            The final image is the Gardener.  “A gardener must tend to the ground as well as cultivate the plants growing in the ground.  The gardener does not make the plants grow.  God does.  The gardener attends to their growth as the plants become what they are meant to be.”[8]    I love this imagery!  As pastors we do not the ability to grow the plants only care for them.  It reminds me of the imagery of being fishers of men; we can fish, but God must reel them in.

            Kornfeld’s image of the gardener is rooted in community; “rooted in the same ground and sustained by the same community.”[9]  Relating to CPE for me this ties into the interdisciplinary teamwork.  The community works together, builds a relationship with each other, and comes to the aid of one in need.  As the chaplain on the unit, I care for the nurses and staff but I also rely on them as we as a tem (a community) work together to help the patient, who is only planted in our garden for a temporary time.

            In my future ministry, the community will be a congregation.  It will be a different garden, mainly because of the soil.  “The soil is our religious tradition and our expression of it.”[10]  Yet, my role as gardener will be similar, to tend the garden, care for the people around me, and being part of the community as a whole.  Kornfeld also used one of my favorite phrases ‘to grow in grace’.  This growth is grounded in love for God and ministry to others has grown from this love.[11]

            So these 3 images are some I embrace: the Courageous Shepherd, the Agent of Hope and the Gardener.  Tending of flocks and plants, offering hope, caring for all especially those on the margins of life, working in community, having faith in what is yet to be are all parts of who I am and who I continue to grow into through God’s grace.

 

           

           

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[1] Page 54

[2] Page 55

[3] http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hope

[4] Hebrews 11:1

[5] Page 188

[6] Page 192

[7] Page 196

[8] Page 209

[9] Page210

[10] Page 213

[11] Page 217